(Updated 9/18/14)

How to take part in Character Palooza at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

One of the best character surprises is often referred to as Character Palooza (Characterpalooza), Pop-up Surprise or the Fantasmic! meet. Because it is an unpublished meet, there is usually a short wait for some great and often rare characters. This meet takes place out doors and can be canceled with the threat of inclement weather.

Where does Character Palooza take place?

It’s on New York Street in the Streets of America in Disney’s Hollywood Studios backlot. It’s could also be found in front of Lights, Motors, Action

When will Character Palooza occur during my trip?

Update: I removed the dates and I’ve added links to my Crowd Calendars that include the actual times, so I don’t have to answer the same questions repeatedly.

NOTE: There is NO Character Palooza on any Star Wars Weekends dates!!!

What characters should I hope to meet?

Here’s some of the characters that we’ve met over the years (which characters appear on a given day will always be a surprise, there’s no way of knowing what characters will appear in advance. If there are multiple appearances scheduled in a single day, you may see the same characters at each appearance.

Well that explains why I couldn’t find them recently. Any chance movig closer to Fantasmic means new characters coming out (like today with Tiana?). Would love if Bert or Robin Hood came out on occasion.

A little late on this but we went to Palooza on 9/20 and they came out by Lights Motors Action. We saw: Queen of Hearts, Genie, Max Goof, 2 Penguins, Jessie, a Green Army Man, Pinocchio, and Aladdin! This Palooza was more insane than usual and had longer lines for characters because Lights Motors Action got let out right around when Palooza started.

We went 9/24 and saw hook, jasmine and aladin together, max, mulan, meeko, stitch, GAMx2, penguins x2, Pinocchio…i talked to an employee and there is rumor they might move it back to HTT…just a heads up…thx again kenny! My son was super excited to meet hook and without u and ur page never would of happened! Thanks again!!

Went to Palooza on 9/14. We saw 3 Green Army Men, 2 Penguins, Max Goof, Pinocchio, Gepetto, and Aladdin. This was our first time finding Max, so it was pretty cool. We are going again today. Hoping for Bolt or the Tweedles!

Great info! This Saturday, 8/23, DHS closes early and your calendar lists Characterpalooza as “unknown”. Any speculation as to whether/when they will have it? Is there past precedent for the park closing early?

Any chance some rare characters (e.g. John Smith, Shang, Meg, Pain & Panic, Wicked Witch) will appear for Character Palooza or is it always the same few? I might be going to Hollywood Studios after all…

I also attended this one. Pocahontas was fantastic. Really went above and beyond spending time with my daughter. It was relatively crowded but lasted 20 minutes (until 6:20) so I had time to meet 5 characters today.

Started at 6:05pm. Pretty crowded for a Sunday night. Villain-free lineup:
– Mulan
– Pocahontas
– Aladdin & Jasmine
– Belle
– Pinocchio & Geppetto (who initially stood in front of the NYC Cityscape with a crowd of 50 bunched around them, but no one going up to take pictures, so they just played up to the crowd dancing and soliciting cheers before walking down the street and starting photos)

Sat 7/19 – smallest Characterpalooza I’ve been to, but featured an elusive villain!
Jafar (who was cool with high-fiving my daughter, but refused a hug, but she took it anyway)
Pocahontas and Meeko together
Rafiki
And a rare Kenny The Pirate sighting!!

Today at Palooza i saw 3 GAM, Max, Evil Queen, Meeko, Mary Poppins, Jasmine, Mr. Penguin, Pinnocchio, Geppetto, Stitch, and Lilo, today was my last vacation day in disney I’ll report who i see again next summer.

I was at this day. I thought it was odd that Mary Poppins was there with two Penguins, however they all met separately. You couldn’t get a pic with Mary Poppins and a Penguin together. Also, one of the GAM would stand still like a statue, then jump and scare kids as they walked by. Evil Queen didn’t meet in a fixed spot, but rather kept wandering through the crowd and got cut off by a stroller.

I’ve been disappointed with Character Palooza lately. Seems like they keep sending out the same characters. Never really any big surprises. On July 8 there was Mary Poppins, Stitch, Minnie Mouse, Pocahontas, Meeko, Chip/Dale, Evil Queen, Jasmine, Geppetto, 1GAM.

I saw a recent report with Genie listed, so I know he’s still around, but can anyone confirm any recent sightings of Jafar, Lilo, Mr Smee and the Tweedles? Just curious if they’re still doing Characterpaloozas. Same with Bolt and Little Einsteins, although they’re low priority for me.

Tuesday, 6/24
Note – started just before 6:05pm.
Evil Queen
Queen of Hearts
Mulan
Aladdin & Jasmine
Meeko
Dale
Minnie Mouse
Pinnochio & Geppetto (Geppetto had an issue and left within 5 minutes, but then returned for the last five minutes)
Stitch
Mary Poppins & Penguin

Thanks so much for the insite on characterpalooza. We got to see a ton of characters.
June 16th 2014
Pocahantos and Meeko
Pinochio and Gipetto
Mary Poppins
Aladdin and Jasmine
Chip and Dale
Two Green Army Men
Evil Queen
Queen of Hearts
Stitch
Captain Hook and
Max.
Super great turn out again Thanks so much.

Kenny – thanks for the info – exactly right, as I suspected it would be! A few weeks ago when we were on our trip – We were sitting on the Streets of America and waiting, waiting, waiting, and just exactly at the time you posted, there came the characters! We met the Queen of Hearts, Green Army Men, Belle, Max, Stitch. We had already seen the other characters there so didn’t need to see them – Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mary Poppins, etc.
You’re so right that the CMs act like it doesn’t exist! Thanks for sharing this info…. There were some other people randomly sitting on the Streets of America at the same time and I really wanted to go up to them and ask “You must keep up with Kenny, too, huh?”

This is probably obvious, but I am having a little trouble reading the schedule. Does the wording go to the dates above or below? There is wording explaining about number of Fantasmic shows above the first set of dates, but also below the last set of dates. We will be there starting Aug. 16. Do we follow what is written above those dates or below? Thanks so much for clarifying!

Well said. We asked pretty much Bc I have zero knowledge of Hollywood studios and knew what time to expect but not necessarily where.. However thanks to your help, was easy to find. Looking forward to more installments of your 24 hour day report

My wife asked a random employee even though I was pretty sure where we had to go. The answer was to wait in front of lights camera action but that they did not guarantee it would happen every day so no guarantee it was going to happen..

Hi! Thank you for this website! It’s a disneygodsend! Sorry if this seems like a silly question but above you said in a comment above “Sorry, meant if Fantasmic! begins BEFORE 7:30 [there is no character palooza]… It’s not based on park hours, but Fantasmic schedules. Park hours and Fantasmic schedules usually change halfway through the month prior.”

Does that mean that if there is only one show and it begins before 7:30 there is no character palooza? I see that last year Dec schedules most of the time the first show was at 6, the second being at 9, so would that mean there could be character palooza or is it based only on the timing of the 1st show? Our trip is in Dec of this year and I am just trying to map out our parks so I can make dining reservations as our 180 days is coming up.

Disney has updated Hollywood Studio and Fantasmic Hours for many dates in August. I am planning to go to Hollywood Studios August 24 which is now showing Fantasmic at 10pm as well as 8:30. Will this affect the times you currently have listed for Character Palooza? Thanks.

Kenny the pirate, awesome job on alerting me to this.. Palooza report for5-21.. Arrived at 545 to check the area out to make sure I was in right spot, about 10 people waiting.. At about 603-605 ish, they came.. Snow queen and hook were there , huge wants.. Chip and dale, giapetto, stitch, pocohantes, mary poppins, green soldiers, .. Was done in about 20 minutes, everyone very cool.. Crowd ballooned to like 15-20 people on line by the end, most of them would prob get cut off..if you go, get the rare ones first, the chips and greens had zero lines…

I’m going to be at hs tomorrow. .. Should I figure on 6:10 for the palooza, by the way, your app was awesome, helped us find and meet Tiana this morning at mk.. Also FYI Elsa and Anna were 300 mins early on, then were about 180 mins a few hrs later.. Fp+ at 1100ish was under 15 mins

Forgive me if this has been asked & answered (it’s hard to scan through all the comments from a phone screen) but does character-palooza typically still occurred during Star Wars Weekends? Or are the SWW events/characters using that space for something else?

Thanks Kenny!
We’ve tried 4 times to hit this event since discovering it through your site, but always have been deterred (rain, illness, broken ride, more rain). But yesterday 5/10/14 we made it! We met the Snow Queen, Meeko, Pinocchio, Genie & Green Army Guy. Also spotted were Chip & Dale (but not together), Max, Mulan, Stitch and a nice classic Minnie Mouse in red.
Thanks again Kenny for bringing this to our attention 😀

Hi there! A comment by a poster above (Matt on May 4th) said that the M&G took place at 4:40 even though there were 2 Fantasmics at 9 & 10:30, but the above info states that it should be 6:10….which timeframe should I plan for since my HS days have F! at 9 and 10:30 both nights. Thanks so much!

PS: So glad to hear Pinocchio has been spotted recently – my 20 yr old DD has been trying to meet him for YEARS!

I cannot THANK YOU ENOUGH for this info! We hit Character Palo oz a tonight May 5th at exactly 6 pm! They came right out a door front left of LMA. A Green Army Man grabbed my daughter’s hand and walked her all the way down San Francisco street to Pocahontas! We saw her, Mulan, Pinochio, Genie, Stitch, and a few more we missed! It was wonderful! Hoping to catch it May 8th too!! =)

Kenny -headed to HS Aug 24th. Right now it shows Fantasmic at 8:30pm What time should we be on SoA?
Would this one be my best bet;
With one Fantasmic at 8:00, there will be TWO Character Palooza meets. The first at 4:30 PM on the Streets of America and the second at 5:10 PM on the Streets of America

Kenny,
For May 2, 2014 you have Fantasmic showing one show at 8:30 pm and character palooza being two times that day… My Disney Experience is showing two Fantasmics one at 8:30 and the other at 10:00 … Does that change the character palooza? If you could help me I would really appreciate it!! Thanks

Looking through, I am hoping to attend character palooza on Friday May 2nd. May 2nd is not in your list. Is character palooza offered this day? Also, Fantasmic is 8:30 and 10:00pm. This means Palooza is at 5:40pm??

I’m going mid may. Fantastic 9 and 1030. You say above in general terms that when it’s 9 and 1030 that palooza should be 6:00 but unconfirmed. What does that mean? I would really like to check this out, in fact I’m planning the day somewhat to hit this ( we are going to the park a little later since if we go first thing in am we’d be ready to leave long before 6 pm)..

I don’t know if this was character palooza or not, but I have pictures of me from about 10 years ago with random/rare characters in the front of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It could have just been a training session, but I didn’t think they held those at the Studios. That’s the only place I’ve ever seen Kuzco in llama form and Stanley from the Playhouse Disney show.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We found your site the day before our DHS day, and you were spot on. We were a bit worried though. We were told that there was only one F! @ 8:30, so we planned to be ready at 4:30, but as we were leaving a ride, an announcement was made that a second slots hdd been added for 10. Even still, we went to SOA at 4:15 and saw an unusually large number of cast members just hanging around, so we thought we’d stay. First thing I noticed at about 4:40 was Chip trying to order a drink at Herbies, so we headed that way. Here’s the list, as best I can remember:

Thanks again! My daughter was so excited to see almost all of them, and my wife was excited for the evil queen, who was flawlessly in character, acting visibly annoyed and put out by having pose for photos with kids. Aladdin was great too. A clearly middle-eastern gentleman was taking to him and told Aladdin where he was from. Aladdin said “I’m from the middle east too”.
They guy took the bait and said “Really? What country?”
“A small kingdom called Agrabah. Have you heard of it?”
The guy just wandered away confused.

So I’m a tad nervous since it seems I’m going the first week where there’s only one Fantasmic at 9 PM (May 4-10). Do you think it’s certain Characterpalooza will be at 4:30 PM or will you know more about the schedule the week it occurs?

If Fantasmic is at 6:30 and 8, what time would Characterpalooza be? I was looking at the times during Thanksgiving. I am trying to plan in advance for 2014 based off 2013. We have always missed this event and would really like to see more characters this trip.

Went today to catch character palooza and got pics with Evil Queen, Queen of Hearts, Max Goof, & Pinocchio! We missed out on Meeko. Plus they had Minnie, Aladdin, Jasmine, Pocahontas & Rafiki there too

Hey Kenny, just wanted to update you! My name is Kirstyn and I work at Disney’s Animal kingdom! For those guests visiting us this summer, PLEASE if you are looking for characters that you don’t normally see STOP before entering the park and passing the vacation planners and look off to your left! We have had PLENTY of obscure characters out recently signing autographs and taking pictures, recent friends: Gov Radcliff, Meeko, Flik, Atta, Stitch and Angel! PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS! I HATE to see people so focused on getting into the parks they’re missing our friends!

Was just wondering if you could add a surprise tip for the summer! Thanks! Have a magical day!

When did Angel begin meeting at Walt Disney World? She has never appeared there before. Are you referring to the Rainforest back entrance area? If you could estimate a time this occurs, I’ll come over and document it for my readers.

She’s been meeting at DAK as part of extra magic late at night. It could be any of the four and Hopper was actually here tonight! How awesome! It’s on nights that DAK is open later (8 o’clock closing – for the past few days it’s been starting at 5 or 6, and usually happens for around an hour and half. It’s not EVERY night, from what I understand it’s based on entertainment staffing, but it will continue until Festival of the Lion King comes back – and I can promise you we aren’t even close to that, haha – I just want people to keep their eyes open! Flik, Atta, Stick and Angel sat so lonely over there because NOBODY saw them! I work in Parking, so I walked by that area quite often and they never had lines, yet people were storming into and out of the park.

First of all, Hopper shows up all the time at the Dinoland dance party and second of all I have said 3 times it is NOT inside the park. As you approach the park, off to the left before the vacation planners…

Hopper never shows up for the dance party. Slim shows up all the time, not hopper and WDW doesn’t even own an Angel costume. Perhaps you just have your character names confused? You didn’t say three times it’s “NOT inside the park.” You mentioned Vacation planners and I didn’t know you were referring to the ticket booths.

Thanks for the updates on Character Palooza. I just have one question…….for May (specifically May 4th and May 9th) there is only one showing of Fantasmic! scheduled for 9pm. What’s your best guess on how many character paloozas they will have and the possible times?
Love your site and thanks for all of the great tips!

Thanks for all the character hunting tips!!! Today I went to the 5:30 character palooza and they showed up a little late. However, I still was able to meet the Queen, Max, Gepetto, Pinochio, Meeko, Green Army Man, Jessie and Genie. I skipped Minnie, Chip, Dale, Stitch and Belle because they have set meets at parks that aren’t blocked out. Thank you so much for the help!!! I also got a (quite terrible due to lighting) picture with Annie at the Disney Junior Dance Party!!!

I have to say a huge thank you for having the best information anywhere. I got to experience characterpalooza for the first time ever and it was magical! The characters were: max, Pinocchio and geppeto, evil queen, meeko, genie, mr. Penguin, 2 green army men, chip and dale, belle, and Minnie. Your time prediction was perfect and I got to meet 6 characters!

Thank you so much for all your great info…I am a newbie and all this is quite overwhelming. We will be at HS on Wednesday, March 12. Your app is showing Fantasmic at 7:00 and 8:30, Disney is showing it at 8:30 and 10:00. Do I go with your schedule…so one Character Palooza at about 4:05?
Thank you!!!

There were 16 at once! Green army men, Max, Pocahontas/Meeko, Evil Queen and Snow White, Chip/Dale, Aladdin/Jasmine, Mulan, Pinocchio, Jessie, Mary Poppins/penguin, and one more who I cannot remember at this moment! We got great pictures…Dale led my kids down the street and Snow White came out and went directly to them playing on the steps of the houses and sat and played with them!

Thanks so much for letting me know about this event. The characters came out right around 4pm on the 5th. We saw Genie, Aladdin, Jasmine, Mary Poppins & penguin, Belle in her blue dress, Pocahontas & Meeko, Chip n’ Dale, Jessie, Smee, and green army men.

Thank you so much!!!! I was walking back to sAn Francisco st at 415 in anticipation of charscterpooliza abd saw Snow White, Mary popping abd the evil queen walk away – I was more excited than my girls!!! We got to the queen 1st and then snow and Mary left due to the drizzle. We then met pochahontas with Meeko, gepptto then belle with her blue dress. We got only a quick autograph from Aladdin as the characters were all leaving due to a bit of rain. Without ur info I would have never know about this!! Thank u so much!!!!! It was a great opportunity!!!

I’m headed in May, and it says there’s going to be two F! shows the night we’re in Hollywood Studios. The first at 9 and the second at 10:30. Any idea on what the schedule will look like in that circumstance?

Were at the park yesterday (Sat) and the characters came out about 4:05 and stayed out probably 15 minutes or so. The group included: Snow White and the Evil Queen (Grimhilde), Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Belle (in blue dress), Minnie Mouse, Pinocchio and Gepetto, Pocahontas and Green Army Man. We were easily able to get pics of our 2 year with all the characters, and had a blast seeing them. 🙂

Sorry if I missed it somewhere. Hoping to catch this for March trip (so should be 5:30 since F! at 8:30 and 10). How long should we plan for Characterpalooza to last? With FPP+ now pre-planned, trying to avoid overlap! Thanks so much. Appreciate your info.

Kenny, how often do you attend Palooza? I have been five or six times since it started again a few weeks ago, and the characters appear to be the same (with maybe one random rotation): Aladdin, Belle, Genie, Green Army Man, Mary Poppins, Mulan, Pocahontas, Evil Queen, Snow White, and Stitch. I think Pinocchio and Minnie Mouse rotated in once. Just seeing if you, or anyone else, had a different experience. In the fall, the characters appeared to rotate more frequently and me and my girlfriend were able to meet every character except for Smee and Queen of Hearts.

hi! We will be at Hollywood studios on Saturday FEbruary 15th…”dinner” res at MAma Melrose @ 3pm with VIP seats for Fantasmic! at 7pm. Any chance there will be a Characterpalooza we can catch?? Where?? Thanks!!!

Hi Kenny
I am planning my trip from March 23-28 and they have fantasmic at 8:30 and 9:30 or 10pm. Does that mean there will be one at 5:30. I am also a little confused on where I should be to meet them and how early would you suggest I get there. Thanks and I love your site by the way. I also downloaded the app.
~Ashley

Hi
I have been at the character palooza a few times and i find it one of the few places that still have the spontaneity of character meet and greets at Disney World. This past weekend I was at the studios and there was a dance party at the sorcerers hat with characters similar to those at the palooza and it was not on the times guide. We saw Pluto, the Tweedles, Bolt, Pinocchio, geppeto, chip and dale. Have you heard anything about this?

I plan on taking my family to Disney World soon . We planned on getting pictures with all of our favorite Disney villains . But the kids and I don’t see Shego (our favorite villain) or any villains from Kim Possible ? That’s crazy she the best villain of them all !!!!

We went on 23rd October and caught the 3pm set. As you go into SofA from Lights Motor Action there is a little street off to the right and that’s where the characters were. Thanks for the tip, we would never have seen it otherwise

I’ll be at Hollywood Studios on Nov 4th and 5th. On the 4th there’s Fantasmic! at 7 and 8:30 and on the 5th there’s at 7 only. I really wanna know the times and places for character palooza these days. An when you say Streets Of America, where exactly there?
Thank you very much.

Just got here 5:05 said they wouldn’t be doing anymore sets. Caught meeko & pinnochio leaving. CM said they are shifting times to earlier in day when only 1 Fantasmic. Kinda bummed. Rushed here as fast as could.

Kenny we did hit the 4pm one too, on 10/19; same characters + stitch, we didn’t stay for the 5:10. We are planning on heading over again for today’s to see if we can see some different characters. My daughter loved getting to see so many characters at once, thanks for all the info!

I was wondering if characterpalooza is a guaranteed thing for everyday? I was on the SOA for 4.30 yesterday (18/10/13 – seeing as they added another F! show on, meaning a 7.30 and a 9.00 show), waited there until just gone 5.00 and no-one showed up. Or was it somewhere else in HS?

I wanted to thank you!!! Fifth time was a charm – after 4 previous failed attempts (all weather related); we finally had the pleasure of experiencing Characterpalooza and your information was spot on. We attended it on Friday, October 11th – we mainly wanted to see Pinocchio and we DID!!!! So because we did, we skipped the second showing (tired 5yo). We saw Jasmine and Genie (yay), Snow Queen, green army man, chip and dale, Meeko and Pocahontas, and Pinocchio (no gepetto but we’ll take what we can get!!) THANKS again for your great info!!

We are really looking forward to doing this in late October. I am still waiting for updated info about when and where for days when there’s only one Fantastmic (at 7:30 pm). I’ve been reading all the posts, so I’m confused about if there will be one, two or three sets at 3, 4, 5:10, and if all sets happen at SOA. Waiting for some folks to confirm the posted information.

Today there was 2 Fantasmics – first at 7:30 and then at 9:00. Characters came out on the Streets of America about 4:35. Saw Pinocchio, Gephetto, Mulan, Jasmine, Captain Hook, Stich, Pocohontas, Meeko, Minnie, Chip and Dale. Thanks for getting this info out there!

Today there was one F! Scheduled for 8 and both characterpaloozas were on streets of america. I met Jasmine and Genie, Pocahontas and Meeko, Pinocchio, Wicked Queen from Snow White and a green army man … chip and dale were also out. It was a blast thank you so much for the information! !!

I’m confused. Your posts says fantasmic’s starting at 8, 8:30, 9:30, and 10. While we are there, they start at 7:30 and 9. Would the times for character palooza be the same as those listed for 8 and 9:30? Then you said that if there is only one fantasmic at 7:30 like on 10/18, there would be 3 character paloozas. Am I right?
Thanks,
Melanie

We were there on 9/30 and it took place at 3:30 on Streets of America. Saw hook, queen of hearts, jasmine, mulan, army men, bolt, pinocchio, geppetto and chip/dale. Did not stay to see if there was a 2nd one held at Echo Lake.

Yeah agreed! Hopefully they’ll see how crazy it was this year and put it back in the animation building next spring.

Looked at the calendar for HS and It seems like after like next week they start closing at 7:30pm most days…so guessing that means they’ll be character palooza then? If that’s the case then I wont be able to make it out there before the 3rd of Nov…but will def. have to go in the spring when they start it up again.

We will be there the in 10 days (starting 10/13). With the 7:30 PM Fantasmic time (on 10/15), does this mean it will be still be around 4:30 on Streets of America or will this time be earlier? Thanks for all your great information!

Today they were by lights motors action only. It was Mary Poppins & Mr Penguin x2, my man Stitch, 2 green army men. Kinda sad. & they came at 545p & left at 6:05. We left after. Might try again tomorrow.

Kenny will you be heading to HS at all this week since the move? Would love to catch up. My plan is for HS on Thurs but seeing there maybe a siting on Fri Im aiming for a Fri on Streets then check out the Lake never done that one. Keep me posted. You know this is my favorite event. TTYL

I’ll probably go back on Friday as the meets were all messed up by weather. They did two sets on Streets by LMA 4:20 ad 5:20. Hopefully the weather will be clear and they’ll do split sets so I can get photos and video to help people out.

If we are planning Hollywood Studios for Monday, October 7th (looks like one Fantasmic at 8pm) – while I know nothing is set in stone – should I “expect” the first at 3:30 PM on the Streets of America and the second at 4:30 PM at Echo Lake? We have had three un-successful attempts (rain, rain and just plain no show) at Characterpalooza and I am determined to have success 😉 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

Streets. Last Wednesday they were at the steets also. That was merlo jasmine stitch Pinocchio Mary poppins… Three green army men and then someone else I can’t remember. But they weren’t very rare because I didn’t get them.

Ok, I am just curious. Now that Characterpalooza is at SOA, how is this set up or even organized??? Will there be attendants keeping track of lines? I just can’t imagine how you would maneuver through all of those characters? I know you would need to be choosy, would you have time to make two sets possibly?

Wondering whether Photopass photographers are out for character palooza?! I am going with my DD (18m at the time of next trip) and won’t be able to get photos of the meets unless a photopass photographer takes them! Thanks.

i have met out of the past two years, 2011 once 2012 twice both in august
belle blue dress
mary poppins and penguins
meeko and pocahontas
captain hook and mr smee
june and annie
pinocchio and gepetto
bolt
minnie
chip and dale
stitch
goofy
pluto
tweedles
queen of hearts.

I’ve done character palooza twice. Both times I sat on the bench in front of the restrooms right in front of Lights, Motors, Action. If you look across you can see the backstage area they come out of, so when they come out, you are the first to know. I happened to discover this by accident one day when I saw the characters exiting while on the end of Catastrophe Canyon. Get there early and wait, and when they come out you can follow them to the Streets of America. I don’t know where they come out for the Echo Lake palooza. Both times I saw them at Streets.

Kind of chaotic. Some characters will pose for photos. Some sign autographs. Brief, but a lot of fun seeing characters you don’t normally see.

Some of the rarer characters I got photos of include the Queen of Hearts, Hook, Queen Grimhilde (from Snow White), Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Max, Meeko, Gepetto and Pinocchio. I even got a castmember to take photos of me with Hook and Queen Grimhilde last time.

Is this still happening? Waited from 4:30 to 5:00 on SOA yesterday and did not see. Also cast member told us it was in MOA so we ran over there to see if we could catch 5:20 and nothing :(. Do u know where it currently is???? We are going back tomorrow and don’t want to miss.

Remember on the days I went there wasnt activity until 5:30p so they maybe doing it later some days & early others. I know I went on Monday April 8 which was begining of month Fantasmic was at 8:30p so they waited until 5:30p. My opinion I think they are trying to keep it a surprise & not stick to a schedule bc its not a guarentee. But remember Im just an observer lol Good Luck

Fantasmic was at 8:30p & 10p. I went to the 8:30p show. Yes they were still planning on doing it all summer according to a cast member I talked to but everything is not in stone. As you see I had to go off my time stamps on my pictures to know the times of Charaterpolooza. My phone was also dying so Im sorry at 1st my times werent accurate until I checked the picture time stamps. since the parade & hat show was canceled there are more cast members walking around the park to answer questions & guide people. They dont know if there will be another parade or not but they did confirm cars land coming & stunt show leaving. I go back in June & plan to give another report.

Ok just got home 2 DE & checked the time stamps on my phone from the pictures I took & had cast members take. The 1st set was at 5:30p the 2nd set was at 6:20p. I took pictures as soon as I saw them come out so my times should be right within 5 min or so. As KTP said be there early bc the times arent guarenteed.

Ok so after 530p & lots of walking around & trying 2 get info from other cast members while speaking Disney lingo the following characters finally came out on Streets at the San Fran backdrop, forgive my spelling: Pochahantis, Meeko, Chip & Dale, Stitch, Hook, Smee, 3 Green Army men, Pinnochio, Max, Mary Poppins, Penguin.

They did about a 10 min set then came back 30 min later for another set. I got info from a different Cast member bc he thought I was even though Im not yet & said that it will be going on ALL summer. depends on Fantasmic schedule & the locations & times change however its usually after 5pm in shady areas. He said each day changes bc of staff etc. Thats the most info I could get lol. but I had a blast watching & getting pictures. If you go solo tell an attendant & they will follow u to the character of your choice & help out. Also if have children with autograph books THEY MUST BE READY!!! I saw at least 3x children who were not ready with pen & book open & character walked away. cant wait to be back in June.

hate to report this but have been sitting on the streets america since 415 and there is absolutely nothing even when asked Cast members about it using a flirty method they said its been quiet for a week now are there any other reports of there???

Okay..I’m the overplanner:) When we say Echo Lake and Streets…is there some place specific they are located in those areas? On our day there’s 9/10:30 Fantasmic. Anything change? If not, you think they’ll alternate between Streets / Echo for all 4 meets?

Hi-love the site & tips! We caught Characterpalooza last year in Art of Animation, but didn’t have anyone too exciting or unusual like the villains (did have Meeko though).

Anyway, heading back to WDW week of April 20. Wondering if it’s still worth it to do Characterpalooza, with the move out of Art of Animation & brief appearance times. Are people able to get photos/autographs when characters are only out for a few minutes? Would love to see the Tweedles & Villains.

Also, do the characters change or usually stay the same between the sets? Thanks again!

Thank you for your awesome website! I am planning ahead for an October trip. The day I am considering is October 8. There is no fantasmic scheduled and the park is scheduled to close at 6. Will there be a characterpalooza that day?

I had a similar situation when I was there on 3/16. The characters were out for about 10 minutes then sent back in and didn’t come back out until about an hour later. Both sets that day were Stitch, Belle, Pluto, Genie, Jessie, Green Army Man, Hook, Mary Poppins, 2 Penguins, Mulan & Pocahontas. Pocahontas was not in the 2nd set. Never have I seen a more disorganized Meet & Greet since the Villans Mix & Mingle at MNSSHP. I think they need to put it back in the Animation Building as that seemed to work better. I got that day Hook, Pocahontas, Mulan, Mary Poppins, a Penguin, Pluto & Green Army Man. They need to bring out the Hunchback characters. I’m dying to meet them.

Very interesting. Was there any rain in the forecast for the 16th? Because there was rain forecasted when I was there Tuesday, and I thought that might possibly have played a role. Still seemed strange though since it was never close to actually raining (blue skies all afternoon).

Today’s 1st set began at 4:35 at the San Francisco section of the Streets of America. The characters started to leave at 4:45, and all of them were gone by 4:48. They weren’t rushed backstage or anything – it actually felt like they knew they were only coming out for 10 minutes. Definitely seemed odd and rather abrupt though.

The attendants told Guests that the characters would be back in 20 minutes. It has been almost an hour and they still have not returned.

where on the streets of america do they appear? i go in april and would love to know. and hope Bolt shows up again during these. ive noticed all the ones youve mentioned who appeared recently but no mentions of Bolt.

Wow. Thank you soooo much for all this information. I have been going to wdw since I was a child but never knew about this. Why have they taken a break from doing the characterpalooza? And last year when we were at Hollywood Studios we stumbled upon a dance party sort of thing in the building where they do the disney junior show. It was at night during extra magic hours. Do you have more information on this? Thanks for all your hard work 🙂

Kenny – I’ve read every post on here. I’m realizing my daughter has gotten quite lucky. There are only a few characters listed that she hasn’t gotten: Bolt, Max, Push Snow Queen, Cruella De Ville & Governor Ratcliffe are the only ones we haven’t seen – the rare ones. We’ve made 4 trips to WDW and haven’t seen Max YET. She’s dying to meet him. This JUST might be our opportunity. We are going back March 10th!!! You are providing a wonderful service to some very appreciative people! Don’t let the Naysayer get to you!!!! Thank You SOOOOO much!!!

The characters we have met are Goofy,Max,Pluto,Minnie,Donald,Daisy,Aladdin,Jasmine,Belle,Bolt,Hook,Smee,Chip,Dale,Genie,Gepetto,Green Army Man,Jafar,Mary Poppins,Penguins,Meeko,Pocahontas,Queen Grimhilde,Queen of Hearts,Rafiki,Little Einsteins,Handy Manny,Pinocchio,and Ratcliff.I think that is everyone.

Thank you so much for the info!! I’ve always known about this, yet always forgot by the time we get there. We’ll be in DHS 2 times in May 2013 and I look forward to having he 1st -timer we’re travelling with meet everyone here!! Again thanks so much =)

You do realize this meet and greet isn’t listed for a reason. It’s supposed to be a surprise and because bloggers like you advertise, it really ruins everything. The Animation building is usually packed with people who make the entire experience a complete nightmare. Just to let you know… you’re killing the Disney magic.

I had a great time meeting these characters the other day. It was the highlight of our trip. Without Kenny, we would have had no idea about this experience. His tip made a magical moment happen for us!

Just wanted to share that I tried Characterpalooza today (Fantasmic at 7:30 pm) and it did happen this time around the time you mentioned. The characters were out like 15 mins it seemed but I was able to meet Hook/Smee, Pinochio/Gepetto, Evil Queen, and Mary Poppins and her penguins. Also out today were Jasmine, LILO & Stitch, Goofy & Max, and Minnie with Pluto. Missed out on Lilo n Stitch by like a minute. May try again on Friday see what I can find.

Hi Kenny. Great site. I wanted to say that I went to HS today looking for Characterpalooza. There was no Fantasmic! and the park closed at 6 pm. I was expecting about an hour of character meets. Unfortunately nothing happened. No characters showed up and when I asked about characterpalooza the CM said it wasnt happening because there was no Fantasmic and the park closed early. Anyway, just wanted to share. Im planning on trying again when there is Fantasmic!

Thanks for your reply. Not sure if what happened to me was an isolated thing but you may want to let people know to stay away from early park closes if they are interested in characterpalooza :). I might go tomorrow again since HS closes at 6 pm again on Thursday.

I did want to ask about the Epcot character training. Is this an everyday thing, does it only happen certain times a year? I’d appreciate any info on it. Thnx.

Just a note from personal experience – don’t bother asking any Cast Members about this at the park, as they will most likely LIE TO YOUR FACE about it. I asked many of them about it, and most didn’t know, but I had more than 1 lie right to me, telling me they don’t do “Characterpalooza” anymore because too many people were looking for/expecting it. I really wanted to see Mary Poppins during our visit to Disney World, but hadn’t by our last day. I was very disappointed each time I was told that Mary Popins would NOT be there, she’s only at Epcot, and then like I said, the’d never heard of any special character meets at the Animation building, or that they stopped doing it. Since I had planned on going there, and we had some time to kill, we went in the building around 4:50pm last Saturday. We found the expected Mr. & Mrs. Incredible, Sorcerer Mickey, and Pooh, but then we saw Stitch peaking from around a corner (which was a big deal for one of my daughters!), then I turned around and saw MARY POPINS and one of her penguins!!! Then, I knew I was LIED to, but I was too happy to do anything about it. We also had a BLAST playing with Genie – the went skipping off with 2 of my daughters and showed them his drawing on one of the walls in the building. Then we were very intimidated by the Queen of Hearts (which was still a ton of fun), Chip & Dale sat down to color with my girls, and we even saw Frozon with the Incredibles. I know for sure that Minnie & Pluto were there, but we’d already seen them, and the few people that were there with us were already gathered to see them. So, to make a long story short, believe what Kenny the Pirate tells you!

We loved going to this! We loved the Queen, but we saw many others too! They had jake and handy manny come inside too. Most of the characters didn’t have a line, but it started to pour outside around five, and people came running inside. They were so excited to “stumble” on all of these characters that you don’t see very often! That added to the lines. Otherwise it would have been dead!

Outside the Character Spot between Character Spot and Imagination Pavillion.
Millenium Village Gates between Canada and UK
International Gateway – entrance from Epcot resorts
American Adventure gates to the left of the attraction

Thanks Kenny! I stumbled across your site last night and I was able to get my 2 yr old to meet Peter Pan, Captian Hook and Smee today (had to got to parks but that’s ok). He is crazy about Jake and all the Characters that go along with it. It was helpful to know where they were and about the characterpalooza.

Best advice ever! We went yesterday and saw Bolt, Captain Hook, Mary Poppins with 2 penguins, Belle in her blue dress, Pluto, Gepetto with Pinocchio, Jafar, Meeko and Pocahontas, Mulan, Goofy and Max, and Quincy (from Little Einsteins) in the time frame you mentioned. And while waiting before and during we also saw Winnie the Pooh, Sorcerer Mickey, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Frozone, and right outside we saw Jake (from the Neverland Pirates) and Handy Manny! Arrived at 4:35 right after Beauty and the Beast Show and left at 5:45, so in just over an hour we saw 23 characters! Not crowded at all, and actually saw several of them multiple times! Keep in mind they scatter all over that building so make sure you poke your head in all the rooms or you’ll probably miss someone. Loved it! Thanks again! We had so much fun we’re likely to pop back over another afternoon just to catch the rotation again and see if we find anyone else we haven’t ever seen (Bolt, Jafar and Quincy we firsts for us, and Mary with Penguins — seen them separately before but never together).

This is great! We really want to find some villains and this seems like our best bet. Are the schedules you listed true in January too? Not to be dense… I just want to double check… the week we are going, all Fantasmics are at 6:30 but one night the park closes at 6, and there is no Fantasmic. We are planning on being there that day – do you think there will be one at 4:50?

This is one of Disney’s best character spots! So few people know about it. Over the last few visits, we have seen Pinocchio & Gephetto, Mary Poppins & Penguins, Pocohontas, Meeko, and Max. Thanks for the additional info about when the sets begin. We just always headed over there late afternoon. Now we will be more intentional about our timing.

Thank you so much for all the information you provided and especially for this tip. My two sons wanted to see hook in the worst way and if not for this time we would have never had the opportunity to meet him. My four year old was ecstatic and excited to see him, he began singing and dancing upon Hooks arrival and called him a cod fish. Hook took offense and walked away for a few seconds. During the picture Captain Hook kept playing with his hook and pointing at my son as well as making gestures that he smelled. It was a wonderful and priceless experience. Thank you again so much for your tip. Your brought so many priceless memories to my family with your character schedules. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!!!!

Probably the easiest way for me to direct you to get there is when you enter the park walk up the road to the Hat. Take a right there and head down the road, you will see brown derby restaurant on your right as you walk. Keep walking and you will go under arches that read Hollywood Studios and continue passed Little Mermaid (On left) and the Disney Junior Show (on your right) If you continue to go straight you will walk into a building. That is the building you need.

I stumbled across your site the other day. I am soooo happy I did! Thank you so much for your information on the Character Palooza! We got to see, what I’m pretty sure was the highlight of our trip, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee today!!! The Wicked Queen, Pocahontas and Meek, and Stitch were some of the unusuals that were also there. What an awesome hidden jem. Thank you again!!

Okay, so according to your outline, Sat, Sept 29th there is NO Fantasmic! due to some kind of run or marathon thing…it seems to be the only day the whole month that there isn’t one scheduled. Think we’ll be lucky and get a whole slew of characters and all 4 sets? I’m a little worried that they just won’t do it at all…

Went today! Caught Mary Poppins and her penguin, Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Rafiki. Minnie was there but we opted out (she was in her polka dot dress, so we can get her at Epcot Character Spot along with everyone else). Couldn’t figure out who replaced Rafiki in set two, or where they were located. Because of Palooza, we also got Pooh with no wait!

And, as a side note, we could Meeko today outside of The Great Movie RIde, probably training?

Just a question, do the characters take a break between sets? For example, if there is an 8:30
Fantasmic and there are 2 30-min sets beginning at 4:50, does Characterpalooza run from 4:50-5:50 or is there a break in between stretching the time out?

Went to HS for the evening last week and headed back to the Animation Studio where “Character Palooza” is held. Man o man – we hit the motherload this day:

Hook and Queen of Hearts were repeated from the previous day but then the fun really began: Mulan, Mary Poppins and her Penquins, Belle, Genie, Jafar, Minnie and lo & behold Pinnochio and Gepetto. These 2 were a hoot and a half!

They danced and played with DS and then I headed up for a picture and Pinnochio stopped to read my Grumpy shirt and started to laugh uncontrollably. He read it line by line then reached over, grabbed my nose and tried to pull on it – stating that I was a liar and my nose was destined to grow. He “unposed” – walked over to his Dad – grabbed him by his hand and pulled him in front of me. He fixed his glasses, bent down and also read my shirt – shaking his finger at me as I was also a liar. This lasted for almost 2 minutes and was THE highlight of the trip!

Thanks Kenny! Stumbled upon your site last night before heading out to Hollywood Studios today. We would have totally missed out on Character Palooza if not for you. We were able to see a lot you’ve listed (Mary Poppins, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, etc) but we were also able to get a picture with Bolt. Don’t know if it is true or not but one worker said that was the only place to get a picture with him. Thanks again!

So Kenny-Looking at the Jan. 2013 schedule,and your rules about Fantasmic! (and yes, I know things change) Character Palooza will only be held once in January as all the shows start at 6:30 or 7! Any thoughts???

Amazing site, Kenny! Thank you SO much!!!! This is getting me so excited! We are taking our soon-to-be-four-year-old daughter to WDW in a month. She is so excited to meet her favorite characters and, thank to you, I’ll be able to do a great job making sure she meets as many as possible!
Thanks again!

really hoping to meet Captain Hook and Genie. I don’t understand who decides who should be retired from regular rotation. I can’t afford to take the whole family on the Pirates and Pals fireworks thing. So bummed about this. I hope I can see some characters during this time. Will be there from August 7th-13th. Any extra advice on meeting rare characters? Thanks.

Decisions on who should be available to the public is based in entertainment and can be for a number of factors including costume availability, size of person needed to fill the role and what characters they want available to promote their products.. Best bet for rare characters is character palooza, followed by Epcot training locations.

Sorry, meant if Fantasmic! begins BEFORE 7:30… edited original comment. It’s not based on park hours, but Fantasmic schedules. Park hours and Fantasmic schedules usually change halfway through the month prior.